Edward Nygma
}} Edward Nygma is a forensic scientist working for Gotham City Police Department with a penchant for speaking in riddles. Biography Early life Edward earned his degree at Gotham City University. Prior to the events of the show, he won the Whippleburn Prize for excellence in criminal science writing for an article titled "What’s Wrong With This Right? Preventing False Positives at Crime Scenes." He also authored other pieces for journals such as Evidence Quarterly, For Your Record and Post-Mortem Monthly.Whippleburn Prize Announced - Gotham Chronicle Working with the GCPD When Harvey Bullock and James Gordon are investigating the murders of Thomas and Martha Wayne, Nygma presents information about the bullet recovered from Thomas Wayne's body in the form of a riddle, to which Bullock impatiently demands that he "tell" rather than "ask". Gordon, however, is willing to play along, and solves one of his riddles . Amidst other forensics work, Nygma helps elucidate the mechanism of action of the drug Viper, reacting to its gruesome effects with curiosity and fascination . He also begins to romantically pursue department archivist Kristin Kringle, angering her by reorganizing her filing system in an attempt to improve it. When Gordon is temporarily transferred to Arkham Asylum, Nygma gives him a goodbye hug, demonstrating how much the detective's friendliness means to him. He continues his attempts to woo Kristen, giving her a cupcake with a bullet in it and declaring that "it's a riddle." Kristen, finding it "menacing and weird and inedible," promptly returns it to him. Nygma later visits her in the records annex to explain what the gift was intended to represent--that "a beautiful woman is a dangerous thing"--but before Kristen can respond, Detective Arnold Flass appears and orders him to leave Kristen alone. Assuring her that he never meant to offend her, Nygma makes his way out, and happens to overhear Kristen thanking Flass and remarking on how weird Nygma is. Unwilling to give up just yet, Nygma makes a card for Kristen and writes a short poem inside. When he comes by later to see what she thought of it, he finds Flass and some of the other police officers mocking it. In spite of Kristen telling them to stop, they begin to tease him, and he leaves in embarrassment. Later, as he's in the laboratory "surgically removing the onions from his takeout", Kristen comes in to apologize for Flass' behavior, telling him that Flass happened to find the card in her desk and that she thought his card was "thoughtful." Encouraged, Nygma attempts to ask Kristen out, but she cuts him off and quickly makes her exit. Nygma smiles, murmuring to himself that "there's hope". Annoyed by the incompetence of the medical examiner, Dr. Guerra, Nygma takes to dissecting bodies without his permission. Guerra begs Essen to do something about Nygma's conduct, and when they next catch him with his hand inside a corpse, she suspends him. Nygma goes to the records room to tell Kristen and finds her crying. She hastily gathers herself, and he explains his situation to her, giving her back a pencil he'd taken from her desk--now reduced to a small stump. Kristen says that she's sorry to hear about his predicament and that she wishes something could be done. Getting an idea, Nygma sneaks back into the station later and breaks into the medical examiner's locker, placing severed limbs inside. Guerra is promptly fired after being found with the body parts in his possession. Reinstated out of necessity, Nygma returns to the annex to tell Kristen that he's back. As he's leaving, she stops him and declares that he owes her a new pencil. When Leslie Thompkins becomes the new medical examiner, Nygma develops a positive working relationship with her, remarking to Gordon that she's much better than her predecessor. Around the same time, he also has a chance meeting with Oswald Cobblepot, who stops by the station to speak to Gordon. Aware of who he is and intrigued by his presence, Nygma teases him, asking him whether he knew that "male emperor penguins keep their eggs warm by balancing them on their feet." Bewildered and unamused, Cobblepot asks who he is, then orders him to "keep moving." In "Everybody has a Cobblepot," Nygma accosts Kristen while she's picking up files from the laboratory. He attempts to flirt with her and brings up the subject of Detective Flass, who has recently been reinstated. "It's just that he's such a bad--" he begins, but Kristen cuts him off, placing a hand on his arm. She tells him that she appreciates his concern, but has realized that there are far better men in the world than Arnold Flass. Kristen leaves the room and, grinning goofily, Nygma grasps the part of his arm that she touched, certain that she'd finally returned his affections. As the day wraps up, Nygma approaches Kristen with a bouquet hidden behind his back and asks if she has any dinner plans. Startled and regretful, Kristen says that she does, and introduces Nygma to her new boyfriend, Officer Tom Dougherty. Nygma remains polite, managing to retain his composure as Tom asks him a riddle. He answers it easily, and Tom promises that he'll stump him next time. As the couple leave the GCPD, Kristen casts another sympathetic glance back at Nygma. Nygma looks down at his wilted bouquet, then, in a fit of heartbroken rage, tears it up and throws it into a garbage can. Start of darkness Some days later, Nygma walks in on Tom and Kristen kissing in the annex. After Tom leaves, he notices bruises on Kristen's arms, which she admits were Tom's doing. Kristen shrugs off Nygma's concern, not wanting him to get involved. Infuriated, Nygma confronts Tom himself. Tom asks Nygma if he's ever been with a woman before, and when Nygma says nothing Tom declares that sometimes women "need a firm hand." Nygma insists his behavior is wrong, and Tom asks him what he intends to do about it, again reducing him to silence. Undeterred, that night Nygma waits outside of Kristen's townhouse for Tom. When Tom shows up, he declares that he won't let Tom hurt Kristen any longer and tells him that he should leave Gotham. For the first time, Tom fully realizes that Nygma has a crush on Kristen. He punches Nygma in the stomach. Before he can land a second punch, Nygma impulsively draws a knife and stabs him. As he gapes in horror at what he's done, Tom grips him by the shoulder as though to knock him down again, and Nygma flies into a rage, stabbing him ten more times. Looking over Tom's dead body, Nygma gives a hysterical, terrified laugh, overwhelmed by the magnitude of what he's done. The following day, he returns to the GCPD with the now-dismembered corpse, intending to dispose of it in the morgue. As he prepares to dissolve the flesh from the bones, Kristen walks in to ask for some files back and recoils at the sight of the carnage. Nygma constructs a hasty lie, claiming that the body parts are from a victim that was sliced up in an industrial accident. Kristen says that she can't understand how Nygma is able to deal with those sorts of things on the job, and Nygma says "one must have a sense of humor." She asks him whether he's seen Tom around, and he tells her that he hasn't. To Kristen's surprise, he then quickly ushers her out. He debates his next move with Tom's bare skull before smashing it, wondering aloud whether he should write Kristen a note in Tom's name to explain Tom's sudden disappearance. He types one out and plays dumb when he finds Kristen reading it. Exasperated, Kristen asks herself why she "keeps picking creeps", and Nygma says that "sometimes with men you need to read between the lines". Kristen retorts that "sometimes with men, you need a drink". After she leaves, chuckling to himself a little, Nygma repositions the note, revealing that the first letters of each line spell "NYGMA" down the left margin. However, Kristen eventually notices Nygma's clue and becomes suspicious. When confronted, Nygma denies knowing anything and is left alone. The fear of being caught, along with the shame of leaving such an easy clue, drives Nygma to talk to himself. This reveals an even darker mental psychosis in Edward Nygma. Later, Jerome Valeska breaks into the GCPD, and begins a massacre. Nygma tackles Kristen and is shot in the arm with the bullet that would have taken her life. A week later, he practices asking her out by talking to a skeleton in his lab. His alter-ego laughs at him, and says that he should "take what he deserves". Nygma demands that Kristen meet him at his home for dinner. That evening, Nygma and Kristen are eating when Kristen apologizes to Nygma. She claims that she feels that she has been mean to him for the longest time. Nygma admits to thinking that he's just been annoying her. She begins to reminisce about Officer Dougherty, (Still not aware that he is deceased.) Kristen wonders how she ever could have let Tom push her around as he did. Nygma nervously says "I'm glad he's dead." Kristen recoils in disbelief, saying that Nygma is wrong, that Tom was alive. Edward quickly states that it was just a figure of speech, that Tom was only dead to her. Kristen, feeling awkward, excuses herself to go to the bathroom, leaving Nygma to dwell on the near miss that he had. Nygma's alter ego appears, saying, "You blew it, you dummy!" Nygma retorts for him to leave, unaware that Kristen was now in the room. She mistakenly thinks that Nygma was asking her to leave. Nygma stops her and tells her about the illusions, which Kristen merely shakes off. She then pulls Nygma in for a kiss. Nygma later proudly announces to Detective Gordon and Leslie that he and Kristen are now an item, and asks if they would join them for a double date. Gordon declines, but Leslie agrees to go, forcing Gordon to agree. This goes well, and Leslie notes that Edward is changing. The next date includes Nygma and Kristen talking, when Kringle, slightly intoxicated, asks if Nygma's bedroom was in the next room, implying that Kringle wants to sleep with Edward. After they are both prepared for bed, Kristen quickly starts to spring up, suddenly fearful that her deceased boyfriend, Dougherty, would discover Nygma and Kristen together. Nygma reassures her that she needn't worry about him. Nygma confesses that he and Tom had an altercation, and that he was dead. Kristen is nervous, but she laughs, saying that Edward had her going, thinking it was a joke. Nygma informs her that he wasn't joking, then reveals that he had Tom's badge as a trophy. Kristen becomes frightened, and yells out, claiming that everything she thought about him was right, referring to calling him "Menacing and weird". She starts to run away, saying, "I can't believe I fell for you...I don't even know who you are! No, that's wrong. You're a murderer!" She threatens to have him locked up, claiming that he is a psychopath. Nygma however, denies having a mental illness. Kristen makes it to the door, with Edward groping after her, and she demands he let her go. Angrier than ever, Nygma tells her that he did it for her, to protect her. She slaps him, knocking him back a little bit. Nygma rises again and grasps her. Kristen busts a glass on his head, causing him to fall, and his glasses to break. He then gets to his feet and cups his hand tightly around her mouth and throat. He attempts to reassure her by saying he killed Tom to protect her, saying she'd never let anyone hurt her, as he loved her. When he released, Kristen slumped down, and Nygma screamed in grief...Kristen Kringle was dead. Embracing his darker side Nygma wakes up the next morning to find that his own alter ego has stolen Kristen's body while the "Good Ed" was unconscious. The Riddler personality taunts Edward and sends him on a grisly scavenger hunt to find the corpse. An envelope left on the bed tells Ed to find Kristen's initials, KK, at the police station. He eventually finds her severed hand in the 'KK' slot of a vending machine, and, extracting it, discovers a rolled-up scrap of paper stuck to the hand. The next clue leads Edward to Leslie's lab, where Kristen's body is hidden in a drawer. Leslie nearly discovers the corpse, but Ed quickly makes up an excuse to get her away by telling her that he and Kristen had a fight and asking if she could give him some advice over coffee. Later that night, Nygma returns to the lab and confronts his alter ego, who asks Edward how it felt to commit a crime and not get caught by Leslie. Ed admits that it felt "beautiful," and, grinning, before he begins cutting up Kristen's body. Nygma takes Kringle's body to the woods to be buried and to say his final goodbyes. During this he kills a hunter who comes across him. He returns to his car to fetch his gear on cutting up the hunter's body, but when he returns he notices someone has stolen his sandwich that he took for a picnic. Noticing a blood trail, Nygma begins to follow the suspect on intent on killing them. Hours later he comes across an isolated trailer, and when approaching the door it bursts open and Nygma is stunned. Placing back on his fallen glasses, he notices it is Oswald Cobblepot, injured, weak and begging for help. Befriending Oswald Cobblepot Nygma takes an unconscious Oswald back to his apartment, Oswald is in fear when he sees Nygma, then Nygma sedates Oswald with a needle to calm him down, later when Oswald wakes up, he tells him that they have met once before at the GCPD and tells him that he will have no where to run and he will have to stay there until he recovers, Nygma tells Oswald that he has started murdering people, Oswald asks Nygma of his intentions, he then claims the murders have changed him and that he needs Oswald to guide him on his new path as he is one of the city's most notorious killers, though Oswald refuses, and tells Ed that the path he is on will lead him to destruction and pain, Penguin later faints. Nygma kidnaps Leonard sometime later, he tells Oswald that he can kill Leonard for retribution for his mothers death, but Penguin then refuses he tells Ed he is done, and that he is leaving Gotham forever, Edward drags Leonard into the closet until Oswald hums a song that his mother used to sing to him when he was a child, later that night, Ed plays that song, Oswald asks him why he is playing the song, and Ed asks a riddle "I can bring tears to your eyes, and resurrect the dead i form in a instinct and last a life time", Oswald answers "memories" Ed tells him that he was humming it under his covers, and figured it had meaning. Oswald tells him that his mother used to sing it to him every night he went to sleep, Ed shows Oswald Kristen's glasses, and that its all he has to remember her by and when he looks at them he doesn't feel sadness anymore, he feels gratitude Oswald refuses to hear the answer why, and proceeds to leave but Ed quickly stops him and tells him that love is there crippling weakness and that they are better off, though Oswald gets angry at this remark and grabs a knife, and puts it up to Eds neck, though Ed quickly saves him self by saving Oswald's mother was his weakness, and tells him a man with nothing left is a man who can not be betrayed, a man who answers to no one but himself. Edward grabs the knife from his hands. The newly befriended Oswald asks where Leonard is, Edward opens the closet where he is being kept, and Oswald states his Mother used to say a party's not a party without entertainment, and Edward then drags out Leonard. Later when Edward is at work, talking to Penguin on his cellphone Dr. Thompkins comes to Ed with files on the dead monk, and he finds it fascinating that the monk can conflict that kind of pain on oneself he asks if there is anything else, she asks if that was Kringle on the phone and tells her a lie that he was talking to his plumber and proceeds to tell another lie that Kringle had left town with officer Dougherty. but he then cries to cross off her suspicions, he answers Oswalds call and Ed asks him what he wants and Oswald asks him where the spicy mustard is but he finds it before hanging up. When Jim Gordon was knocked out by Theo Galavan, Gordon wakes up to Nygma and Oswald singing with each other, Nygma gives a simple "Hi", Oswald says to Gordon "He's a friend" Gordon responds in a confused manner, sometime later Nygma went back to the GCPD where he overheard a conversation with Thompkins and Barnes, he heads over to her, and tells her to go to his Apartment Sometime after that Nygma heads over to hear the conversation with Bullock, Lucius, Barnes and Alfred. after Bullock said "yeah, where is Jim Gordon, but it's a long story that no one knows." Ed starts laughing, and they all grow suspicious when they all go over to him and ask if he knows where Gordon is, he tries to riddle them with "A diamond plate, A growing grate, A place you never leave?" but Lucius smartly answers "Home, who's home?, your home? Gordon's at your home?" a worried Nygma answers "No... Yes... who are you?". Sometimes after the events of "Rise of the Villains: Son of Gotham", Nygma is seen building tech, as his radio says "The question remains, just who is running Gotham's underworld?". Later, Nygma is seen at the GCPD, doing forensics on the frozen cop, he is seen freezing a rose. he says the suspect wasn't using liquid nitrogen but he was using super cooled liquid helium. Gordon asks where they get it, and Ed responds with "Why do you need it?", and Bullock says that he doesn't and he just wants to know where it comes from, calling Ed a dummy. Ed is seen crushing the rose and says he doesn't like being called names. Gordon tells Ed to be easy and that Bullock was simply being colorful. After that Bullock leaves the room but Gordon stays to ask Ed the nature of Oswald's relationship with him, and that he is concerned on why he aided a criminal. Nygma tells him an excuse that he found Oswald wounded and dying in the woods and that he nursed him back to health, and that he owned him his life when he said he had changed his ways Ed calls it an innocent mistake to throw Gordon off, as there conversation is cut short when a cop is heard shouting "WE GOT HIM!" as they head out to see that Oswald Cobblepot was arrested and everybody clapping. When Oswald is put into a cell at GCPD, Ed comes to talk to him but Ed tells him to shush because he is not supposed to be talking to him. he asks him if he is doing Ok, Ed asks if there is anything he can do to help, but Oswald responds that he is beyond help, but asks if he can take care of his mothers grave occasionally, and tell her that he is thinking of her. When a guard comes in to collect Oswald and tells him he is going to Arkham, there conversation is cut short. Hatred over Jim Gordon When Dr. Thompkins asks Gordon for help on finding Kristen Kringle, Gordon goes to Ed for help, and visits him in forensics, Ed is working on a case with a dead body, Gordon asks Ed if he has heard from Kristen Kringle lately, giving Gordon a riddle "I'm strong as a rock, but a word can destroy me, What am I?" before answering the riddle for Gordon "Silence, I've heard nothing" Gordon tells Ed he hasn't seemed to locate her, and that she hasn't cashed her last few paychecks, Ed asks if something bad has happened, and Gordon asks Nygma what Tom Dougherty is like, as Nygma responds "Rotten" and tells Gordon that Kristen left a note, Gordon asks if he can look at it, but Ed says he didn't think of it as a keepsake. an angry Edward asks "So that's the game Jimbo gonna try to outsmart me playing me for a fool? I don't think so". after Gordon gets back to the GCPD he spots Ed and asks him how he is doing, he goes over to Jim and ask him if there is any news on the Kringle case, but Gordon responds that he has been a little busy. but Eds paranoia doesn't let him believe that, he starts to speak to him self rapidly, and that he has plans of his own, later that night at his apartment he has a newspaper on Jim Gordon he draws a green question mark on the image of Jim Gordon, before ripping it off. At the Gotham Museum Of Art, Ed sneaked in a fake bomb, as he was watching people looking at it, he sets it off as people run out of the building, Nygma waits for the smoke to set off, before going in with a knife and a green spray-can to leave clues for the police to find, he cuts off the painting and sprays a green question mark in its place. Police go in the Museum only to find the question mark. later at the GCPD, Ed heads up to tell Gordon he is ready for there interview about Kristen leaving with Dougherty but Gordon tells Nygma that he has to go to the Museum. Edward is seen taking a bomb out of his car, and puts it in a locker spray painting a green question mark on the door of the locker, He waits for Gordon to get closer to the locker before activating it. Gordon uses a crowbar to open the locker and grabs the bomb out and throws it into the statue before it explodes, Ed then flees the area. Later, at the crime scene Ed asks for Pinkneys signature for a eternal affairs form. Ed goes over to Jim and tells that he heard he was the hero to save the day, and says he doesn't believe in luck and he saw a problem and he solved it. Edward later picks up the crowbar that Gordon used to open the locker for one Nygmas 'plans'. Back at his apartment he is looking at the crowbar he just took before Oswald knocks on his door, Nygma is happy that he is out of the Asylum he lets Oswald in, and asks why he is covered in feathers, but Oswald came to tell Nygma that he can change and anger is not the solution. But Edward says "The me I am, right now, is hitting my stride" and that he is really grateful on all he taught him. and the bad stuff about Jim Gordon is really paying off. but Nygma asks Penguin to leave and that the new him is really freaking him out, and thanks him for coming by. Edward changes the bomb report to another sheet. Sometime later, Nygma calls the police station masking his voice, about the murder of Theo Galavan, Soon after that Edward goes to Officer Pinkneys Apartment to kill him for the final piece of the puzzle, to frame Jim Gordon. Finally putting Jim Gordon into prison. Personality Edward is intelligent, calculating, kind, and caring. His meticulous and observant nature makes him an excellent forensic scientist, often detecting clues and connections his superiors miss. However he is also narcissistic, being infatuated by his intelligence and enjoys telling riddles to prove this, much to the annoyance of most of his co-workers. He can also be awkward, unintentionally insulting, and selfish, like getting the previous medical examiner fired as revenge for getting him suspended by making it look like he was stealing body parts. He has romantic feelings for Kristin Kringle; when he discovered that her boyfriend, Tom Dougherty, was physically abusing her he threatened Tom to stay away from Kristen. However, when Tom attacked him he killed Tom in self-defense. Though he felt guilt and remorse for this he covered up the murder to avoid arrest and stay with Kristen. He is compelled to leave a riddle in the letter he wrote to Kristen to cover up Tom's death, but becomes angry with himself for leaving such an easy clue and suffers a further mental breakdown. He enjoys playing video games, saying that each one provides a new challenge and that it is similar to detective work. Abilities *'Encyclopedic Knowledge:' Edward possesses a profound knowledge of anatomy and displays a wide-ranging command of esoterica from numerous fields. *'Skilled Lockpick User:' Edward has at least rudimentary lockpicking skills, shown when he successfully broke into the Medical Examiner's locker. Appearances * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Season 2 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * }} Notes *Edward Nygma, his last name is sometimes spelled with an "i", (or Edward Nashton according to some writers) was created by writer Bill Finger and artist Dick Sprang and he first appeared in Detective Comics #140 (1948).[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riddler Edward Nygma/Riddler at Wikipedia] The first time the character's origin was tied into the G.C.P.D. was in the video game Batman: Arkham Origins, where he is described as a police consultant and the apparent head of the Cybercrime unit. *Nygma appears to desire a friend in Detectives Gordon and Bullock, but his social awkwardness prevents him from embracing it. *Nygma is known to frequently work late. It is unknown if anyone else was in the GCPD when his Riddler side was hiding Kristen's body, and if there was, if they saw him. References Category:Characters from the comics Category:Antagonists Category:GCPD members